Overview

• Department of Homeland Security data show international students in the U.S. are down 2.4% from last September, falling from 965,437 to 942,131.
• DePaul University reported a 30% drop in international enrollment this fall, including 755 fewer students overall and nearly a 62% plunge in first-year international graduate students, and it will curb spending with measures under consideration such as a hiring freeze and executive pay cuts.
• Administrators at multiple universities report declines led by graduate programs, with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign down 1% overall but 22% for first-year international grads and the University at Buffalo down 19% overall and 58% for first-year international grads.
• The White House has asked universities to sign a memo seeking to cap international undergraduates at 15%, a move that could further constrain enrollment strategies.
• Policy shifts including visa revocations, delays and social-media screening are influencing enrollment decisions, while NAFSA projects up to a 15% national drop costing nearly $7 billion and Moody’s warns of rising credit risk for tuition-reliant schools.